Kids Free, 2003

KIDS FREE AT ROCKWELL MUSEUM OF WESTERN ART - NOW THROUGH END OF YEAR

October 1, 2003

Kids Free at the Rockwell! Families are now invited to enjoy one of the region's most popular attractions at a reduced cost through December 31, 2003. The Rockwell Museum of Western Art is offering free admission to young people 17 and under, when they come with their parents. The "Kids Free at the Rockwell" promotion goes hand in hand with Kids Free at the Corning Museum of Glass.

"We're happy to make this special offer and encourage parents to bring their children to the Rockwell Museum of Western Art," says Museum Director Kristin Swain. "Especially since we partner with the Corning Museum of Glass in offering combination tickets to the two museums, we wanted to make the same incentive available to families. This museum offers families a great opportunity to explore the people, places, and ideas of the American West. We provide young people with some special educational opportunities that are also just a whole lot of fun."

Young visitors to the Rockwell Museum often wind up serving as guides for their families when they borrow one of the museum's Artpacks to explore the galleries. Kids pick up a theme-based backpack at the front entrance to the museum. They can choose from three subjects: cowboys, Native Americans and wilderness. Each Artpack includes a written guide that leads kids through a selected part of the museum's collection. Carrying a clip board of activities, they are encouraged to respond to what they see, and they also find suggestions for creating their own art following the theme. The Wilderness Artpack explores how people from various different backgrounds have experienced the Western wilderness, highlighting majestic landscapes and their inhabitants. The Cowboy Artpack introduces this heroic figure in both real and mythical forms, and invites children to put themselves in the cowboy's boots and mind. The Native American Artpack explores the richness of a variety of Native cultures and traditions.

"We created the Artpacks with families in mind," says Cindy Weakland, Director of Public Programs for the museum. "We wanted to highlight the best of our collection in a way that appeals to children of all ages. The Artpacks encourage kids to put themselves in the artists' place when they look at a painting, or to think about the subject from different points of view. And they do it in fun and manageable chunks that bring out the best of kids' creative impulses." Although designed for students from ages 7 to 13, the Artpacks have proven popular with kids of all ages.

In addition to using the Artpacks, kids at the Rockwell often find their way to Kids West in the Museum's Education Center. Kids West is a child-sized collection of Western town facades and a miniature Trading Post where kids can play out Western characters with props and their own imagination.

The Rockwell Museum of Western Art presents some of the best Western and Native American art created during the past two centuries. Exhibits are designed to stimulate thinking and are organized by idea, rather than time period. Visitors explore galleries devoted to art that reflects the ideas of: Wilderness, Cowboy, Indian, Horse, and Buffalo. Here they may confront the stark contrasts between an abstract work by a contemporary Native American artist and a nineteenth century artist's interpretation of Indian life, and be inspired to explore other differences of theme and style. In addition, many of the works of Frederic Remington and Charles Russell are in the comfortable Remington and Russell Lodge, where families can talk about what they see and learn in a comfortable Western-style living room.

Kids and parents also enjoy shopping at the Museum's Trading Post, a gift shop bulging with Western-theme toys, books, kitchen gifts, jewelry, art reproductions, and more. And for the hungry, the adjacent Cantina serves up delicious southwestern meals, snacks, and kids' specials.

From now through the end of the year, visitors can also explore "A Collector's Perspective." This is the first part of a two-part special exhibition. It features 40 of Bob Rockwell's favorite paintings, drawings and sculptures, with labels describing his particular interest in each. The second part of "A Collector's Perspective" will open in January, 2004. Rockwell, the Museum's founding donor, amassed one of the nation's largest private collections of Western American art during the 1960s and '70s. He donated much of that collection to the Museum.

The Rockwell Museum of Western Art is located at the corner of Cedar and Denison Parkway in Corning, just one block from historic Market Street. It is open seven days a week. Through October 31, hours are 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 11:00 to 5:00 on Sunday. Directions and further information can be found by calling 607-937-5386.